Last Thursday Boston Red Sox pitcher David Price verbally confronted TV analyst Dennis Eckersley on the team’s flight to Toronto. Apparently, there were heated words between the current and former pitchers on the plane.
The next day, Price met with manager John Farrell and team president Dave Dombrowski, but Farrell didn’t elaborate on the meeting and said “it’s being handled internally.” Price confirmed that he had the meeting with management, but simply said “some people just don’t understand how hard this game is” when asked for further information on the incident.
Ordinarily, the incident would just fade into the past, but a story was reported this week that several Red Sox players cheered Price on. One report said that one of the players was superstar Dustin Pedroia, however, there is a report that this was not true. What is curious is that the team has not apologized to Eckersley, nor have they told Price to do so.
There have been issues between players and broadcasters in the past, some even coming to blows. Players with huge contracts are under pressure, often self-inflicted pressure to perform and frustration sets in when they don’t. Price signed a seven year, $217 million contract with the Red Sox and is currently 5-3 with a 3.82 ERA. Good numbers but not exactly Cy Young performance.
It is easy for analysts, especially former players to spout off about the team on the field, and Eckersley – inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004 – is now an analyst for NESN. I knew Eckersley back when he was with the Cubs and he was one of the surliest, most unpleasant people you would ever meet. To be fair, Eckersley had a drinking problem at the time, which he kicked and along with becoming a closer, got him into the Hall.
Still, I’ve seen Eckersley on television and he is very opinionated and I can see him saying something that rubbed a player the wrong way. Again, the fact that the Red Sox team nor Price has apologized, and the support of certain team members (whether or not that includes Pedroia) is telling. When the only person who has come out in support of Eckersley is former Red Sox, former analyst and right wing advocate, nutcase Curt Schilling, one has to also wonder.
Sports stars are a lot like the rest of us – in love with nostalgia. The old days are always better, the new days always lacking. To be an athlete, one has to have considerable ego, and Dennis Eckersley has that in spades. Perhaps he doesn’t understand tact?

When I first was laid off, one of the first things I took time to watch was the Oscar winning documentary “O.J.: Made In America.” This is a gripping documentary that gives the watcher a view of being young, black and gifted in America and then, being a famous celebrity in America, and what it was like to be O.J. Simpson. Even if the story ended there, it would have been very good, but of course, the story centered on the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
Anyone who was alive and aware in the 1990s knew the case, may have watched it on television, and had an opinion. Back then, I said that I was the only black man in America that thought O.J. was guilty and wondered what the hell the jury was thinking that acquitted Simpson. The documentary showed unbelievable crime photos that showed truly how gruesome the murders were, and pretty much showed that no one else could have committed the murders. On top of this, the background of Simpson’s childhood and the racial history and climate of the relationship between black people and the L.A. Police Department explained that the verdict was payback for the acquittal of police officers in the Rodney Brown filmed beating.
The documentary went beyond the case, up to Simpson participating in an armed robbery of sports memorabilia on September 13, 2007 in Los Vegas and got him found guilty and sent to prison. Simpson got a minimum 9-year, 33-year sentence, much longer than another defendant, but many people believe that it was in part payback for the earlier acquittal.
One would think that the story was over, but even as I type, I am watching the parole hearing of O.J. Simpson. He has served nine years in Lovelock Correctional Center, Lovelock, NV. Much like the White Bronco “chase,” the trial, all things related to O.J. Simpson, many people are watching this, like watching a car wreck in NASCAR or Indy racing. You can’t tear your eye away. I had no intention of watching today, but here I am.
O.J. Simpson is 70 years old. His oldest daughter Arnelle just testified in his defense to bring her dad home and I can understand this intent. I believe that he will get parole today and will be released in October. Is it enough time for the murder of his wife and Mr. Goldman? Of course not, but even if he gets out of prison, O.J. Simpson will return to being a societal pariah. He is on parole, so he still will be under supervision, and any infraction he commits, he will be returned to Lovelock. Plus, Simpson can’t try to make a great deal of money due to the civil judgement that the Goldman family won against Simpson.
Whatever your opinion on the cases and the guilt or innocence of O.J. Simpson, his life is like an episode of Jerry Springer; you may not go out of your way to watch the life of O.J. Simpson, but you have to look at it.

In all walks of life, there’s always someone who believes that they can do the job better. Add the Internet, and everyone is suddenly an authority, a critic, and a leader. Also unfortunately, everyone has an opinion, just as everyone has an asshole.
One of the places where ego is at its most unbound is in sports. As players, it is easy, the most talented can take over a game, can lead a team to victory. Of all the team sports, basketball is one sport where a great player can elevate the team, and as a result, the very best believe that they can improve the outcome since they have done so many times before. So, when the games end, the best think they can become coaches, general managers, owners. Thinking that their knowledge would be enough to make another championship team.
Unfortunately, times change, players change and the access and drive and talent that the superstars possess cannot be replicated in just anyone. Magic Johnson has tried it as a coach; he tries it today as head of basketball operations of the Lakers. Larry Bird had some success as a coach, then move to the front office for the Pacers. Bird recently stepped down. Michael Jordan has failed as an executive in Washington; not he is trying as an owner, with limited success.
Former Bulls and Lakers head coach Phil Jackson thought that he could take over as President of the New York Knicks, the team he played for decades ago. I believe that Jackson thought he could do this to answer the criticism that Jackson won his NBA titles only because he had the best players ever: Jordan, Shaq, Kobe.
Plus, Jackson’s time with the Bulls was complicated by the presence of GM Jerry Krause. Krause was better at talent evaluation and development than people management. The players hated him; Jackson couldn’t stand him. But Krause, nicknamed “The Sleuth,” did put together teams that won six championships. As great as Jordan was, he couldn’t win by himself, or with lackluster teammates. Krause drafted Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant; he traded for Dennis Rodman and Bill Cartwright. The team won six championships and Krause was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Today, Jackson and the Knicks decided to part ways. The Knicks haven’t come close to being a contender. Much of this is the fault of owner Jimmy Dolan, the billionaire owner whose ego and need for attention and control has helped undermine Jackson. Of course, Jackson’s decisions haven’t been the best ones: continuing to allow Carmelo Anthony to be the center of the team; the Derrick Rose trade hasn’t worked.
Many Knicks fans, never the shyest group of people, are lauding the move, but with Dolan in charge, Anthony and the other mix of players on the roster, the team is no closer to an NBA Championship than it was yesterday. Is this the end of Phil Jackson in basketball? Will the “Zen Master” now retire to an ashram somewhere? Will Jackson return to Los Angeles to be with his old girlfriend, Knicks owner Jenna Bush?
Remains to be seen.

Wisconsin is a weird place. Known for cheese, Joe McCarthy, Paul Ryan, Scott Walker, and of course, the Green Bay Packers. Since the Bears and Packers in effect started the National Football League, along with the physical proximity, has made the rivalry between the teams and especially their fans one of the most intense.
Packer tickets are among the toughest in the league to get – season tickets are passed down through generations. The team is publicly owned, all profits go into running the team, shares are nothing more than trophy items. Bear tickets are tough to get when the team’s good, much easier when they’re not. (One could say that there’s more to do in Chicago than Green Bay, but that would be snarky.)
Maybe that’s the reason that Russell Beckman, resident of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin has Bears season tickets. Now, however, he has filed a lawsuit against the Bears because the team won’t let him wear Packer gear on the sidelines. The lawsuit says that the rule violates his free speech rights. The suit’s focus is a Bears rewards program that lets season-ticket holders stand along the sidelines during certain pregame warmups at Soldier Field, something Beckman says he did in 2014 and 2015 in Packers apparel. The Bears sent him an email before a December Bears-Packers game warning in capital letters, “NO OPPOSING TEAM GEAR WILL BE ALLOWED,” according to the lawsuit. He went in Packers apparel anyway and was turned away.
I have been a rabid critic of the Nashville Predators’ policy of trying to stop fans of other teams, especially the Blackhawks, from buying tickets to Nashville games. Besides being in the same division, Blackhawks fans are notoriously loyal and as the team got better, demand for tickets got higher. Many people would come down to Nashville to watch games. As a Northwestern fan and season ticket holder, I am used to having Big Ten schools with larger alumni and fan bases buy many more tickets to our games than NU fans. It’s embarrassing, but the school only sells tickets between the 30s to NU season ticket holders, but sells as many tickets to the other school as they will buy.
The Blackhawks sell tickets to whomever, and while fans of opposing teams get a bit of abuse, it is generally good-natured. Beckman’s 10-page suit that asks for an order to life the ban. An email Beckman sent to Bears executives that he included in his court filing accuses the team of creating “segregated safe spaces for Bears fans” by banishing Packers gear. “Stop coddling them,” he wrote. The filing includes a photograph of the lifelong Green Bay fan in a green-and-yellow Packers jersey and with his beard dyed green. But one of several emails the Bears sent to Beckman explaining the policy said the sideline access “was specifically created as a unique opportunity for Chicago Bears fans.” “Doesn’t the fact that the Bears are my second favorite NFL team qualify me as a ‘Bears fan’?” he wrote.
First, this isn’t a free speech issue, otherwise, the Bears would refuse to sell tickets to Packer fans or people who live in Wisconsin. The field belongs to the team, and as such, they have the right to have rules about who they allow on their field and what they can wear. It is the Chicago Bears’ home field, so they have the right to prohibit other teams’ gear on the field, especially since the perk is for Bear season ticket holders.
Finally, there is a public safety issue here also. I worked as an Andy Frain usher at Bear games and it is not unusual for there to be fights in the stands between Bear and Packer fans. Having a fan parading around on the field wearing Packer colors and gear will only get the sides, already fired up, revved up even more. Having this moron parading around the field may get the sides fighting even earlier. Fights that might start in the third quarter could end up starting in the first, and instead of a couple of fights, there would be more.
I hope the Bears win this silly lawsuit and if there’s any justice, they pull their season tickets. Then he can wear whatever he wants, outside of Soldier Field.

This is a rare, purely political post. You have been warned.
Earlier this week, Democrat Jon Ossoff lost a special House election in Georgia to Karen Handel, another GOP operative who is a firm follower of Donald Trump. A number of years ago, I donated money to Barack Obama’s campaign, and as one would imagine, I have been inundated with requests for money from Democratic organizations and candidates. And not just from Illinois, but from as far away as Hawaii, Utah, and several other states.
While the Indignant Wife makes lots of money as did I before I was laid off, even with all of that, if I “chipped in” $1 here, $3 there, we would be bankrupt. Ossoff’s campaign was particularly insistent. Almost every day, there was an email with a hyperactive tagline “OSSOFF Loses” “OSSOFF wins” (caps original to the emails). This is the type of hyperbole that is used constantly in the political emails. On top of that, the Democrats, including ones that I support like Senators Al Franken and Elizabeth Warren, are always begging people to give money before some “deadline.” Who sets these deadlines, why should I care? If I give money 1 minute after the deadline, will the Democrats refuse my money? Somehow, I don’t think so.
On top of that, there are often 3 times, 4 times, 5 times matches – money coming from others but my money triggers much bigger giving. Who is giving this money? Are they as bad as the Koch brothers and other black money being given? Do we really know that these anonymous donors really share my concerns and values?
So, I don’t give money, one, because I don’t have as much as I used to; second, there are tons of questions about this money; third, I don’t like to be manipulated into giving. And finally, I don’t want to throw my money away. The Georgia House race was the most expensive House race in history; millions of dollars were spent on both sides and still the Democrat lost. Yes, it has been a historically Republican district just outside of Atlanta, but there was hope that the divisive and cruel policies of the current Congress and Administration could get “right thinking people” to change.
The Democratic establishment seems to think that money is enough – just throwing money at a situation will be enough. Liberals always lose elections by counting on logic and arguments to overcome greed, racism and stupidity. Giving them more money just allows them to delude themselves into thinking that eventually there will be enough money to start winning elections.
Liberals, progressives, need to find a way to talk to people, get them to understand why it is in their best interest to vote with us. We also need to understand that there are millions of people who cling to their ignorance, feed on their base instincts and hatred. We will never turn them. They are the Fox/Breitbart folks. They will never change. They only thing that we can go is let them die off and get the people who believe in fairness and equality and dignity for all to vote. There are more people who believe in these things than those who do not. We have to get these people out, and write off the others. Maybe they need to secede and split from the rest of us.
But as we keep saying about the Kochs and the other right wingers, money doesn’t equal more votes. Liberals need to remember that, get some tough candidates and start winning. And quit all of the begging.

I never got the opportunity to chime in on the next “Fight of The Century” Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. UFC Champion Conor McGregor. As you know, I’m not a fan of mixed martial arts, I never watch it but it is hard not to know about McGregor. He has gone 49-0 in the caged ring, and is the biggest name in the UFC.
Mayweather is the biggest name in mainstream boxing, but known for his boxing skills and ability not to get hit more than being a big puncher. The Pacquiao fight in 2015 was won by Mayweather by unanimous decision, but both men earned over $100 million, which is a similar payday for Mayweather and McGregor.
The fight will be a traditional fight, meaning, no kicking or grabbing, which is the trademark of MMA. McGregor gets close to his opponent and then batters with kicks and hits to the body and head, mauling his opponents. Most of his fights have lasted an average of five minutes, while Mayweather is a great defensive fighter and 12 rounds of boxing times 3 minutes equals 36 minutes, much longer than McGregor has ever gone.
Most pundits believe that Mayweather will win easily. McGregor has limited skills and with the fight on August 26th and a national tour scheduled to promote the fight, there isn’t much time to learn. Other than the multimillion dollar payday, there’s nothing for “boxing” to win. If Mayweather wins, especially convincingly, it proves that MMA fighters aren’t true boxers. If McGregor does lose, it validates MMA. Either way, Mayweather comes out with over $100 million, which is the only thing that keeps him from retiring.
If the pundits are correct however, the losers are the poor saps who will pony up $50 to $100 to watch this fight on television. There is a slight chance that the people buying the fight see history, but more likely, Mayweather is too skilled or cagey to like McGregor do any serious damage. People’s wallets will take longer to heal.

This is a big week for the National Hockey League – the expansion draft for the new Vegas Golden Knights is announced tonight, the salary cap has been announced, the Awards from last year are also broadcast tonight, and finally, the amateur draft is this weekend, here in Chicago. Here are some briefs:
• There have been numerous trades to be announced allowing the Golden Knights to add valuable players without taking other unprotected players of the other 30 teams. As I wrote before, tonight the Golden Knights will announce all of their players traded and drafted from the unprotected of the other teams. As a hockey fan, I will be watching.
• Those who know me know that I love hockey jerseys, and I have one for every team and several teams that no longer exist. Starting next season, Adidas is the official jersey maker for the league after several years with Reebok. A big thing was made of the unveiling of the new jerseys, which could have been drastic in a flat-out money grab for the league and the teams. I and most fans don’t have the money to replace our jerseys. For once, the NHL didn’t sell us out; the new jerseys are much like the old ones, but with some trim around the collars. No need to throw out the old ones (like we could afford to).
• Finally, the end may have come for the Blackhawks Marion Hossa. The team announced today that Hossa will miss the 2017-2018 season because he has a progressive skin disorder and the side effects of medication to treat the disorder. The disorder is caused by Hossa’s hockey equipment and he has been undergoing treatment under the supervision of the Blackhawks medical staff for several years. When he first showed up here in Chicago, I thought he was a carperbagger. He had been in the Stanley Cup Finals for two consecutive years with the Red Wings and Penguins, and came to the Hawks trying to win a Stanley Cup. I didn’t think he was not going to be one of the major pieces in a three time Cup winner. Over time, I became a fan, I love watching him control the puck; when he’s good, no one player can take the puck from him, plus, he is a 500 goal scorer and future Hall of Famer. He is now a husband and father. He planned on playing several more years, but now, he is out for next season and perhaps forever. It is more important for Hossa to be there for his family, and that is the first priority, but I do hope he can play again.